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Vietnam Visa: What you need to know!

Are you planning a trip to Vietnam? Have you got your visa sorted? If the answer is no, keep reading to find out what you need to do for a Vietnam Visa so you’re not rejected when you arrive at the airport!

Getting a Vietnam Visa

Before you plan anything, you need to get your Vietnam Visa sorted. There are two ways of going about this. The first is to get your visa from a local embassy before you arrive and the second is to apply for a Vietnam visa on arrival (VOA) and collect at the airport. We went with option two.

We chose to organise our visa through Vietnam Visa Online and the cost is US$19 per applicant. Click here to access Visa Online. It takes only 2 working days to get the information back. It is important to check the paperwork as they did have a typo on ours so we had to get them to resend the document which was time-consuming (we ended up getting one of our tour companies we booked through to ring on our behalf).

It is important to note that you can only get a VOA at Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang and you must have the following before arriving at the visa counter in Vietnam:

Original passport (valid at least 6 months beyond date of arrival)

Completed Entry/Exit form (which you will be emailed from the company doing your VOA paperwork)

2 Passport photos that are 4cm X 6cm (one photo on the entry/exit form and the other separate)

Printed Visa Approval Letter with full pages (which you will be emailed from the company doing your VOA paperwork)

Payment is cash only, either in USD or VND

Visa costs as at April 2017 are:

1 month or 3-month single entry: US$25 per applicant

1 month or 3-month multiple entry: US$50 per applicant

1-year multiple entry US$135 per applicant

If you are arriving in Vietnam at a different airport or at a land border, you will need to get your visa from an embassy prior to arrival.

How did you organise your visa? Leave your comments below!

We spent two weeks in Vietnam and had an amazing time. Click here to check out our posts on Vietnam.

Packing Guide for Vietnam

Do you have travel insurance?

Before travelling, make sure you get a travel insurance policy – you never know when you might need it! Click here for information on travel insurance, what company we recommend and a link to get an instant quote.

Alternative accommodation

If you’re looking for alternative accommodation to either save some money or share with friends or family, click here for information on Air B&B ($50 discount on your first booking), hotel price comparison websites etc.

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost